Bait for the Big Fish
by Ablemarle
Summary: AKATSAKU. Sakura Haruno is just a medic-nin trying to do some good in life when she gets swooped up into a mess of black and red cloaks.
1. The Bulletin Board

**Bait for the Big Fish **

Hello, wonderful readers! This is a whole new multi-chapter fic based around Akatsuki kidnapping Sakura… pretty typical. I kind of like the way it's going to work out though, so if you'd give it a chance I'd be real happy. 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters in any shape or form. I just kind of twist their fate for fun.

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"_Sakura Haruno, the most trusted and revered medic in all the Five Great Nations is in Sand for a limited time. She will be giving lectures on healing on the 4__th__ of this month at the Great Hall."_

A poster boasting of the cherry blossom's name caught the puppet master's eye. He recognized and more importantly, would never forget that name. She was a cat from hell and that was for sure. With her… ridiculous pink locks and that revolting brute strength that seemed to rival even Kisame's; the kunoichi should have been ashamed to even call herself a girl. And so what if he was just offended because she and that old bag had defeated him? Sasori made sure to give the picture on the poster a dirty look before snatching it off the post and shoving it into his red-clouded cloak.

Sasori entered the Akatsuki's temporary base and made his way to where the bulletin boards in the office were set up. He wondered why they even had them for a moment, since the only things posted on them were flyers to give away the cats they had mysteriously collected. (Thanks to Pein, who apparently had a soft spot.) Even further analyzing that, no one even came into their base; it was secret. Who did they plan on seeing these flyers, anyways? The puppet master softly sighed before hanging up this poster with a thumb tack so that the rest of the members would see. He doubted anyone actually cared, so he went back to playing shogi with one of his puppets.

"Why are you clogging up our poster board with your fan boy paraphernalia?" The large, blue fish-man put a foot on the shogi board where Sasori was playing, consequently knocking over all of the shogi pieces. Sasori remained silent, staring at the shogi board and pondering why he even put up with this anymore.

"It's for serious business, like finding homes for those stupid cats that keep eating fish in front of me! It's disturbing; I'm not going to stand for it anymore!" Kisame looked like he had endured some seriously traumatizing things in the past month or so. Honestly, the puppet master couldn't find any way to care about the fish-man's 'pain.'

"Shouldn't you be the one who cares about this flyer the most? You are the one who's in charge of nine-tails, after all." Sasori moved a shogi piece across the board as Kisame lifted his foot off, took his sword off his back, put it up on the wall in a rack, and pushed the puppet off the seat across from the redhead and sat in the chair. "What are you blabbing about? Why would I ever care about learning healing jutsu from some Hokage-princess-wannabe?" Kisame quirked an eyebrow and stared at Sasori with a slightly miffed face.

Sasori felt like screaming from frustration. It was only expected; because in the Itachi and Kisame outfit, let's just say Kisame definitely wasn't brains over brawn. Either way, the sand exile decided to enlighten Kisame on the plan that he had prepared, but not without a little bit of whining first. "I can't believe _I_ have to do your job for you. But—"

"You don't."

"Yes, I do, because I'm ¾ of a wooden puppet and I have more brains than you."

Kisame scoffed. Sasori continued explaining his plan, free from interruptions. "Clearly, the pink-haired kunoichi is affiliated with the nine-tails. Although it's obviously not my place to say this," Sasori said as he squirmed in his body full of patches courtesy of Kakuzu, "I think that she is a much easier target and bait if she is alone. You and Itachi wouldn't have a hard time capturing her. Do you see where I'm going with this?" So help him if he didn't follow, because it wasn't that difficult to understand. Kisame nodded and Sasori breathed a sigh of relief. "I think that's the best plan we've got. Itachi and I have made little to no progress, thanks to him always avoiding his brother or some stupid shit like that." Shark-boy moved a shogi piece offhandedly as he mulled the idea over in his head. "What if she's not alone? Our whole plan is down the drain."

"Then you can't get her for bait and your mission makes no progress."

"Oh." Kisame scratched the back of his neck and huffed outward.

While the two sat in silence, a familiar white-haired face walked into the office and threw the door to the mini-fridge open. "Why in the fuck is there no shit to eat? Like, really, is it that hard for someone to be assigned to shopping? You all are some unorganized fucks and I'm getting sick of it." Hidan roared and threw a jar of jam in the direction of Kisame. The blue haired man leaned out of the way and Sasori watched as the shogi pieces fell off onto the floor. Why him? Why couldn't he have just died to that kunoichi and the old lady?

The Jashinist quickly recovered from his fit and leaned over their shoulders to look at the poster that Kisame was still holding in his hands. "Hey, isn't that the Hokage's pupil or whatever the hell?" Hidan pointed at the picture on the poster and Kisame nodded. "Yeah, we were thinking about a plan for the nine-tails and her. Wanna give me some feedback?" Kisame looked up at Hidan, who had a contorted expression on his face. "Uh, no. See if I give a fuck, man. You're not gonna get 'im, you've had such a long time and everything I mean really, how long does it take, I woulda had him by no—" The violet-eyed man was stopped in the middle of his rambling by a strong blue hand punching him in the jaw. Hidan's eyes rolled back into his head and he choked back a groan before yelling back at the shark-man. "I'm just telling you the truth, you shit!" Hidan grumbled, huffed, and puffed. "I mean, it might work. Her friends and that whole village are pretty fuckin' dumb. They'd probably come after a slut like her." The Jashinist chuckled to himself and sat in the room on the side of the shogi table. "So, are you gonna wait to ask Pein or are you gonna go ahead?" Hidan didn't bother waiting for a response and voiced his opinion, "You should just fucking go for it, man."

Kisame rolled his eyes and shrugged. "I don't even know if I'm going to go through with it, I haven't talked to Itachi or anything."

Hidan scoffed and opened up a bottle of water, "What? Are you Itachi's bitch?"

"He's my partner."

"…So?"

Sasori and Kisame both continued playing shogi, while ignoring the man with seemingly limited intelligence that was in the room with them. Hidan watched the game quietly, surprisingly. He got the sudden sense that they both didn't care about his opinion. Normally, this man would voice his opinion regardless of how people felt about it. This wasn't much of his business, though and for once in his life, he somehow respected it.

Soft footsteps came in through the hall and made their way into the office. The man behind these footsteps made his way to a seat near a dining table and sat down. He observed the people in the room with his maroon-colored eyes as he simultaneously flipped through the wanted section of a newspaper.

"Speak of the devil." Kisame remarked as he saw the raven-haired male walk in. "I have a proposition for you, Itachi. Sasori and I came up with a plan. Look at this flyer." Kisame handed the poster with Sakura's face over to his partner. Itachi seemed to catch on to their plan pretty quickly. The Sharingan bearer glanced over the poster for further detail and thought over how the plot would work out in his head. He didn't seem too much against it, Kisame figured. After years of running around with the guy, Kisame had found out how to read his face pretty well. "It's one of our only options, Itachi. We're kind of at a stale place in our mission." Kisame's voice rumbled through the room that was almost dead silent ever since the raven walked in. Itachi went back to the newspaper and nodded, "I suppose it's a good lead." Kisame grinned at Itachi's words, "Great! The actual lecture is going to be in a couple days. We'll start planning tomorrow."

Apparently, it only takes overnight for a plan to get screwed over and not pull through. It was funny, though, because you'd almost think Itachi was the type of guy who wouldn't get sick a single time in his life. Well, when he did, the Uchiha did it was grace and fluidity. You couldn't even hear his retching through the cheap plywood door to the bathroom. Kisame stood outside of the door, with his arms crossed and his eyes rolling back into his head from exasperation. "I'm guessing the plans off, then."

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**A/N: **Well, what do you guys think? I think it was good for an opening chapter and it's one of the longest things I've ever written for this site, hah. I am pretty excited to carry out this story, even if it's a little bit cliché.

**I really need your guys help on this one, though! So please review or PM and tell me who you want the main pair/pairing in this fic to be. I'll need to know this before I can carry out the rest of the fic! Thanks so much!   
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	2. A Welcoming Ceremony

**Bait for the Big Fish**

Howdy, lovely readers! I'm excited to write this chapter because you all seemed pleased with the first. I have pretty big plans for this story and I'm so enthralled with the results so far. Thanks for all the alerts, favorites, and reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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"Itachi is sick now, what are we supposed to do? Are we just going to sit here with our dick in our hands?" Hidan's crude language boomed through the room.

"This is a perfect chance for us to make our move on Haruno and get in close enough contact with the nine-tailed jinchuuriki to capture it." The whiter side of Zetsu reasoned, stating the same as Hidan, without the foul language. Due to the fact Zetsu gained more respect than Hidan, the rest of the members would actually heed his word. Kisame rose up and nodded his head, "Well, I'm definitely going. Like I said before, this is the perfect change to get that nine-tails brat." With a sharky-toothed grin, Kisame grabbed the Samehada off of the wall and mounted it onto his back.

Our friendly blue man only had one problem. He had no idea who was a candidate to bring with on the mission. Kisame had worked with other people in the Akatsuki, but Itachi always delivered the best. In truth, they worked incredibly well despite the fact they were considerably opposite. Hidan promptly bumped Kisame out of his thoughts and volunteered himself. "I think I want to go. I got a chance at that asshole jinchuuriki once, I deserve a second round." Hidan sinisterly grinned and made his way to a closet where the rest of the weapons, including his scythe, were located.

"I guess I'm not going to stop him from coming." Kisame shrugged, because as infuriating at the silver-haired man was, he was well capable of fighting and the medic-nin's abilities could not do much to the immortal fellow. Hidan put on his scythe and draped his red-clouded cloak around himself before he made his way to the front of the cave. Kisame and Hidan both put their hands on the ninjutsu scrolls placed on each side of the cave's door, which was actually a heavy boulder ground hard into the frame. The boulder slowly creaked and made a quaking shudder before splitting from the cave's opening enough to allow the broader-shouldered blue man to slip through after the more compact Jashinist.

The cloaked duo made their way almost half way through the Suna desert when they had stopped to clean their shoes and socks of sand. Both of these two were not especially perceptive, but each of them noticed the faint tracks of a ninja in the sand. "These are too fucking tiny to be a guy." Hidan stated bluntly and ran his finger around the edge of the print.

"Why do you even care? It's not that Haruno girl, I can almost guarantee you. There's plenty of kunoichi who live in Sunagakure or go on missions alone."

"It's just weird as shit and extremely convenient. I don't fuckin' know, man."

"You're overly paranoid." Kisame shrugged it off and took one last look at the tracks before putting his shoes back on.

The pinkette who was unknowingly being stalked had already found herself at the gates of Sunagakure. She greeted the guards at the gate with a friendly grin and wave before she sauntered over to check in. Sakura brushed a wisp of cotton candy colored hair away as she signed her name with the ink pen sitting by the check-in sheet. "Thanks!" The gate keepers waved her off and the kunoichi made her way to the Kazekage's office to announce her arrival.

On her way there, she passed by many street vendors and kiosks and reveled in the fact that Sunagakure was going through a wonderful economic period. Sakura could almost read the expression on all of the market clerk's faces. They all just beamed content, or even a more extreme version of 'content.' Eventually, she found her way to the Kazekage's tower and briskly moved through the labyrinth of offices and doors to find Gaara's immaculate room. This room resembled much of the Hokage's; in the way that it gave an expansive, panoramic view of much of the town. The kunoichi lightly rapped at the door before being waved in by the secretary. Sakura found the new kage looking out proudly over his city. Gaara had turned around by the time Sakura fully announced herself and she fidgeted as she felt his eyes bearing into her expectantly.

"Hey, Gaara, it's nice to see you." Sakura gently embraced her familiar pal who was recently anointed as Kazekage. It was getting easier and easier to be friendly and responsive to Gaara these days. She had just recently figured out what he had went through and some part of her felt particularly vested in Gaara's wellbeing, whether it was her inner, nurturing medic or not.

"Hello, Sakura-san. It's good to see you, too." The former jinchuuriki smiled softly before releasing himself from Sakura's hug. He took a seat behind his desk and passed her a map of the city. "This map is just in case you need it. I just wanted to make sure you got here safely, so you're free to go."

"That's awfully considerate of you!" The medic-nin looked a bit quizzical. She was wondering if he doubted her ability to keep herself safe, before she remembered the fact that Akatsuki activity had been noticed recently.

The raccoon-esque male nodded, "Sunagakure as a village owes a lot to you. If it weren't for your prowess in your field and Team 7 as a whole, a lot of Suna might be different today. Thank you." He promptly leaned over his desk to shake her hand before dismissing her finally.

"I understand. I am grateful to be of help to Suna whenever it's needed and so, you're welcome!" She smiled, as she was proud of her work and she did not let the feeling of a job well done pass her by. "Well, I don't want to be late for the meeting. I think the village elders and I are going to discuss modern medicine. Thank you for all the help." Sakura dismissed herself, before bowing and waving goodbye. The young Kazekage bid adieu with a curt nod before he returned to his paperwork.

"_Gaara's grown up so much. I know Naruto is proud of him, too." _The kunoichi thought to herself as she passed by a mirror vendor which proved to be quite ironic. She found herself looking a bit forlorn in the glass image of herself. Sakura figured it was at the mention of Naruto, for his name always rang a bell in her heart. Upon which, she would feel a stab of pain at the same place in her heart. This almost shocked her because she couldn't remember feeling upset about it, but she did awfully miss him. It was always the fact that he was gone or out of the village, out of sight. He was on missions or he was hiding from the Akatsuki. He was hunting down Sasuke or he was training with some ancient philosopher somewhere. It all was very tiring and to be honest, Sakura still felt as though she couldn't keep up with her very own team mates.

While lost in thought, our young pinkette barely noticed the festival going on down the street. A painted pink banner hung from two parallel poles back dropped against a cyan sky. It read out, _"Welcome to Sunagakure, Haruno Sakura!"_ The recipient of all of this attention and honor felt herself turning especially red in the cheeks as she was pushed into celebrations by a bustling crowd. Sakura was pushed up on stage and felt her stomach drop far into her pelvis. Despite being the Hokage's apprentice, this kunoichi never was taught specifics about speech. In the academy, all ninja were required to have a decent presentation style and voice. She had mustered up a mediocre one for most of her life, but this time it actually mattered. Sakura was on stage and in front of at least a thousand citizens of an allied country. With not a moment's thought, she started babbling and going on and on about how thrilled she was to be in such a wonderful country. It wasn't exactly the fact that she was nervous. No, it was the fact that she was so caught up that this speech had to be average at best. If it didn't, well, Lady Tsunade would grab her by her cotton-candy locks and wring her dry for not understanding the gravity of the relations with Sunagakure. To which Sakura would reply, "I've saved plenty of people from that village, Lady Tsunade! So relations should be fantastic!" On second thought, she wouldn't, because she had the slightest feeling that her Hokage would blow a gasket if Sakura copped even the slightest attitude.

"Thank you all so much for your time and I hope I can keep coming back in future years to enjoy your wonderful city!" Sakura finished the speech promptly and managed to pull some of that pink-haired charisma out of the air just to wrap it up. _"That happened way too fast." _

Our kunoichi was right; it did happen too fast, because before she knew it, Sakura was yanked off stage and damn near grabbed by the ravenous crowd. She shook hands and posed for pictures, while making small talk and holding a wide grin on her face the whole time. If being a medic-nin didn't work out for her, maybe she could be a sub-par politician.

Sakura enjoyed food and the company of lovely Suna folk for the rest of the day. The crowd had simmered down until night which was when the weather became bearable, if not a bit chilly. By nightfall, the whole of Suna nearly showed up. She exchanged pleasantries with Temari and Kankuro, who was a guest of honor in his own way. At this point in the party, or welcoming ceremony, almost everyone she saw had adorned a mask on their face suddenly. There were nearly all of the types of masks you would see in Noh plays and some more, all in vibrant and freshly-painted tints.

"They're nice and all, but why the masks all of a sudden?" Sakura finished off a stick of pastel-colored dango and looked over in Temari's direction.

"It's just something people of Suna enjoy during ceremonies of any kind. It's almost a tradition, but not quite. Would you like to borrow my mask?" The blonde kunoichi handed off a Gigaku type mask to Sakura. It was painted with tasteful plump red lips, denoting that this mask was specific to a young woman. These types of masks were typically used for depicting 'super humans' in Japanese plays, so they were usually a favorite of ninja.

Sakura grinned and felt even more welcome as she slipped the mask on and dispersed into the crowd to socialize. Her heart had expanded almost tenfold for Suna just in these past hours. It really was an amazing village and she was proud to call herself a savior of some of these wonderful citizens.

"I've seen bloated fish with more charm than that. What a bunch of shit." A man in a Shikami-style mask leaned against one of the welcome-sign's poles.

"Hey. Watch what you're saying." Another more gruffly-voiced man wore an 'Ondekomen' mask and stood in front of the Shikami. They both wore fine garments suited for both Suna's hot days and the cool nights. Their attire consisted of mesh in various places and durable beige canvas in the rest. The much taller and broader man in the Ondekomen also had a rather large rectangular lump in his back. It seemed to be something shoved under his clothing.

"I'm just saying, I've got more fuckin' charisma in my -"

"Hello! Thank you _so_ much for attending my welcoming ceremony." Sakura reached out her hand to shake these two men's hands. She smiled from underneath her mask, despite the fact they couldn't see her.

The two strange men exchanged glances at each other. They contemplated whether or not they should pick their jaws up off of the ground or shake her hand first. Somewhere, one of them pulled out a thought about just grabbing her right then and there and making off with her while everyone was distracted and masked. Suna might as well have set her up to be kidnapped. As in, "here, take this pretty, little, young kunoichi who also happens to have close ties with high-ranking officials from Konoha because having the Hokage's apprentice get kidnapped during war time won't make a dent in Suna and Konoha's relationship at all."

The pink-haired medic-nin leaned in to shake their hands, which would seem like a split second to anyone not trying to kidnap her, but to them it felt like a good hour or two. The larger of the two nodded his head to the smaller man, as if to convey a message. 'Ondekomen' shook her hand first. In only a fraction of a second, a smoke cloud had been released and all of the ninja in the crowd reacted. By the time they did, both of the devil-masked men had made a lot of ground and darted right out of Sunagakure.

Really, though, it wasn't Hidan or Kisame's fault. Everyone was asking for it. The crowd was wearing_ masks,_ for Jashin's sake. Oh, shit. He'd have to remind himself to perform a self-crucifixion for using his lord's name in vain when they got to the new hide out. Kisame and Hidan were the ones who were sent to set up the new one, due to the fact that they were out on a mission that would bring them far, far away.

"Let go of me! What are you doing?" Sakura had been passed off to Hidan so that Kisame could perform the particular jutsu to transport them faster, and Hidan currently was wrestling with this 'hell-cat,' as he so fondly called her. This hell-cat had proceeded to scratch and claw at his neck and rip into his skin with those spring-green claws of her. Of course, he didn't mind. In fact, he found it somewhat intoxicating. He clenched his jaw and choked back a soft gasp as she jabbed a chakra-infused heel into the crook of his back.

Kisame, however, did not find it 'intoxicating' when Hidan buckled over and the hell-cat almost pounced away. He took an opportunity to grab her by the neck before she made it more than 10 feet away. After he had taken hold of Sakura, Kisame smacked her hard in the back of the head and jabbed a finger into the curve between her neck and her shoulder. The former aggressive, writhing, hissing female turned into a limp shell before anyone knew what had happened. By this time, he had already gotten Samehada ready to siphon all of the chakra from her body. He started the process and drained the majority of the cool, minty life force from Sakura.

Kisame ripped off his Ondekomen mask and tossed the passed out ninja on the ground. She had put up quite the fight. For being the underdog of Team 7, she sure wasn't the average ninja. Her taijutsu rivaled even his own, despite that she was half of his size. An argument could also be made for one-third. Sakura's medical skill was revered throughout almost every ninja country. It wasn't only because she had been taught by the Hokage. She had excellent chakra control, dexterity, and precision. If Team 7 ever reformed as a whole group and went full-force, Kisame felt as though Sakura wouldn't be the "useless member" that he so often heard her referred to as.

Since both of his company was passed out and he was tired of carrying both of them, Kisame decided to set up tent at the bottom of a hill. This way, he was blocked from most flank attacks and if anyone came to patrol from the northern side, Kisame or Hidan would spot them before any irrevocable damage was done.

The blue man threw both of them roughly to the ground and proceeded to start a fire in the middle of all three of them. It was cold out at night, due to the fact that sand didn't retain heat for a long time. It was just an attempt to say warm on Kisame's behalf without having to cuddle up with Jashin-lover and Hell-cat. Speaking of which, Sakura had been tossed on the sand like a bag of meat and Hidan lay near her, almost curled up against her in an infant-like attempt to gain human contact and warmth. Kisame chuckled at the notion; he had always figured Hidan was one of those people with a hard shell and a soft interior. Of course Hidan would never admit it, but almost all of Akatsuki believed it deep down. Konoha, as a whole, on the other hand most likely decided on the fact that Hidan was an emotionless freak who butchered himself for fun. On second thought, that was actually kind of true.

After musing upon Akatsuki and Hidan's current state, Kisame decided it was about time to put the fire out so that no one would find them in such an expansive, blank desert. "I guess that's it for today." The blue man mumbled to himself and he blew out the rising flame. A dark grey beacon of smoke rose up into the air and wafted away up into the navy blue sky.

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**A/N:** Whooohoo. I'm so proud of myself that I'm finally starting to write a lot longer stories! This is one of the longest I've ever written. It just gives me a good feeling inside. C: Thank you all so much for reviewing and reading and favoriting! It honestly gives me SO much motivation and means a ton. Please continue to review on ideas for whoever Sakura should be paired with long-term. Whoever gets the most votes, I'll make it happen!


	3. Through the Desert

**Bait for the Big Fish**

Hey, everybody! First off, I want to apologize for the long wait. I had exams and major review for over a week, but now its summer and I have all the time in the world to get this story on a roll. Ok, actually, I think the big problem with me and writing is I get on the computer specifically to write and then I end up blowing it off. Well. Here's the third chapter. I'm so excited with the way this is turning out. Thanks for the reviews.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto!

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No matter how hard she tried, the battle-worn kunoichi could not get the dry feeling out of her mouth. Sakura smacked her lips together and licked the outside of them. She really needed some chap stick, thanks to Suna. Whenever she woke up in Suna, Sakura would always feel quite uncomfortable. Once, she remembered, the air was so dry and stale that her nose bled profusely. However, her hotel staffs was very kind about it when she handed over formerly perfectly white linen sheets that then were covered in stains of red. A crook in her neck quickly woke her up from a daydream and she realized that where she was now, there was no hotel service. No one would smile charmingly at her and reassure her that a humidifier would help with her sensitive nose. Right now, Sakura would look up and only see a blue-man lumbering over her. As she tried to turn over on the pressed sand, the young lady's muscles tensed. Almost everything in her body was sore. It was potentially from the terrible resting conditions of which she endured the past night. This wasn't to mention the fact that the pinkette had been sprinting between countries for a couple of days before. To say the least, it had been a rough week. The female ninja thought of her knees grinding together and her calf muscles yowling in pain. The best Sakura could do was drift off again into a deep sleep and hope that her captor's would decide to carry her around and relieve her of the effort. Honestly, she didn't know if she could do it.

As Sakura promised herself that she'd find even a wink more of sleep, she felt a sharp jab in her side which was followed by a barrage of insults. "Hey, lazy bitch, you better wake up before we leave you with all the vultures out here." An unfriendly, yet familiar (thanks to the Bingo books), face greeted her and she registered the fact that it was his foot meeting her ribcage. The kidnapped kunoichi gasped out for air to support her words with, yet she found an unsuitable amount. Sakura figured this out pretty quickly and felt the raspy, sandpapery texture of her throat. "Water..?" She bit out, which was followed by a pain in her diaphragm. A giant, towering a foot or two over her, handed her a leather flask from which she happily gulped from. She noted that the 'giant' would be Hoshigaki Kisame. The fact that he was with Hidan and not Itachi made her wonder how Akatsuki was holding up. They'd been unorganized recently, and it wasn't that she was exactly concerned for their wellbeing, but Sakura was awfully curious. Sakura, always tactful, immediately began formulating plans the moment she was handed the hard, boiled leather pouch. She figured the best chance she had was to infuse some of the chakra into it and make a hard toss at Kisame's face. Despite the fact she was in a desert and completely on her own, she wanted to make a try. She proceeded to carry out the plan, but it was a feeble effort from the start, as the pinkette quickly found out no cool minty energy flowed through her. That would explain why she felt like utter shit, too. Kisame and Hidan knew, too, because they plastered a shit-eating grin across their visages, as if in sync. That enraged Sakura even more, if there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was that mocking look that people gave her. She had gotten it enough in her youth; therefore, it was just one of those things she couldn't handle. The kunoichi wanted nothing more than to scream at the top of her lungs so that it echoed off of every sand dune, every crag and peak in this desert, and back to the Hokage's tower. It was that defenseless she hated, too. She became a medic-nin, a full-fledged taijutsu fighter and shinobi so she could protect herself and those she loved. Even though she wanted to yell, her battle cry came out as a helpless squeak and her fist turned into her limp hands smacking down into the sand. Yet, Sakura would not give up that fast.

They had trekked through almost all the desert it seemed. Sakura was parched, lonely despite her unlikely 'company', and furious all in the same, tiny, pink-haired bundle. Kisame looked back at Sakura with a passing glance and one would have mistaken her rabid if they saw how she reacted. The pinkette bit at him, snarling and growling. Hidan felt a shiver go down his spine as he imagined her getting feisty like _that_ with _him._ Even though her throat felt like she swallowed a vat of sand, she found more strength than from when she woke up. Sakura was ready to rip their heads off and make them _pay_ for ever even fathoming messing with the Hokage's student. Obviously, she was getting a bit more spirit back into her. "So, are we actually going somewhere or are you going to drag me around the desert until I get a heatstroke?" Sakura sassed, passing a dirty look in the direction of both of the Akatsuki.

"Why would we tell you where we're going? That's the point of a secret fuckin' base, dumbass." Hidan scoffed and gave Kisame a look like_ 'wow-this-girl-is-flat-out-fuckin'-retarded.' _Kisame paid Hidan no attention and flipped his head back to look at Sakura. He seemed like he was going to speak but instead he shrugged and kept walking forward. Hidan decided in that moment that Kisame was acting pretty weird, even for a blue man with _gills_. Maybe he's missing his boyfriend, Itachi, Hidan thought.

Sakura didn't remember the blue-man like this, ever. She was used to seeing him brawling and being overly rambunctious all the time. Despite that she was never exactly familiar with him, she had encountered he and his Samehada many times in battle. He was anything but shy and meek.

Finally, much to Sakura's short-lived happiness, they found their way out of the harsh Suna desert and into the humid temperate forest of the rain. Sakura took note that the hidden rain village was right in between Suna and Konoha. An inkling of hope rose in her throat, like a little heartbeat. Maybe they were taking her home and they weren't as bad of men as the bingo books said. Maybe she was 12 and a fool again. The second was more likely. After a second of mulling over this idea, she realized it definitely wasn't the hope that rose up in her throat. She bent over and retched into the lush, dew-covered grass of the country. Bile was all that came out and Hidan made a sound of disgust. Kisame didn't acknowledge it at all, which kind of enraged her and made her stomach ache more. Weren't captors supposed to take care of their bargaining chips? Or was she even a bargaining chip? Did she have any worth, after all? Were they just keeping her to kill her and get her out of the way? Aside from her depressed train of thought, Sakura was assessing the current state of her body. It seemed as though she was suffering from a heat stroke, just like she predicted would happen. Even though she wasn't dehydrated enough to notice yet, the heat had taken a toll on her body. She was glad they were in a relatively cool place now, with plenty of moisture in the air. "I need more water." Sakura stated simply. They were looking at her expectantly, probably due to the fact she was still kneeling over her own vomit. While they got their fill of water and questionably commandeered alcohol from pubs on their way to kidnapping her, Sakura ran on the flask of water Kisame had given her.

Hidan grunted and tossed her his notably larger container of water, she assumed. She took a big gulp before she realized the taste of highly fermented sake blended with other alcohol. "We don't have any more water." He grinned at how far Sakura's jaw dropped. "It's your fault, can't you smell?" Hidan quirked his lips into a dirty look and he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. As if he cared if the girl got drunk, maybe she'd pass out and be easier to deal with. The little pinkette sans the yapping and throwing up; yeah, that sounded good to him.

However, the Konoha kunoichi would have none of that. She smashed the glass container into the poorly paved path. She stomped on it until the glass crunched and her feet smelled of distilled alcohol. "Fuck you, fuck Akatsuki, fuc—" Sakura spat, before her mouth was covered and she screamed and she thrashed around underneath her captor's blue, humongous hand.

"Hidan, get the flank of us. Someone's in the woods. We've been followed." Kisame commanded, pulling out the Samehada and preparing for what he had been expected. Hidan stared dumbly for a moment before hopping to. He rejoiced in the prospect of battle, he was giddy with excitement. Sakura's high pitched screams turned into squeals as Kisame pushed her face into the dirt where she had smashed the glass and sapped her of strength with his sword before he ran off into a fight with Hidan at his side. Sakura had enough strength to watch them, but her field of vision cut short at their knees. Her feeble whispers of help had all been crushed under the weight of her heavy voice box.

She listened to their screams and saw them dropping to the floor. Akatsuki really was terrifying. Sakura was used to the horrors of the ninja world, however; she lived, breathed, and fought in it every day. The sight of men falling didn't faze her as much as it would anyone else. However, their shinobi headbands made her shake and sob and touch to her own. One man had lain down after taking a fatal stab to his lungs from Hidan's scythe. He faced towards her and they made eye contact. A look of shock passed through his eyes before they shut permanently. All that was left was a shell of a shinobi and his marker. A leaf symbol was engraved atop the silver plated green ribbon. Big, salty crocodile tears leaked down her face and stung as they reached the superficial cuts from having her face shoved into glass. Sakura shivered like a little blossom in the wind when Hidan draped her over his back. Kisame looked her in the eyes, following her path of vision to the slain shinobi's band. "Oh, yeah, that reminds me." He tugged at her headband and ripped it off her forehead. Sakura shrieked out a blood curdling scream to stop the blood from running in men's veins. Hidan grimaced and brought a hand up to his ear to signal that "the fucking banshee busted his eardrum."

They took away her identity. Who was she now? She was just a pink haired girl with medical and taijutsu prowess. Sure, she was still recognizable by the pink locks, but she wanted, no, _needed_ to be recognized as "Sakura Haruno of Konoha, the one and only, the exceptional pupil to Lady Tsunade, Hokage of Konoha." Without her forehead protector, you might as well call her a rogue ninja with no purpose. She promised to never be a deserter, not after Sasuke, not after meeting the Akatsuki, not ever. What was she now, even if not voluntarily?

"Look, they were trying to kill you. They saw you with us and assumed you had run off to join the Akatsuki, following after that Uchiha runt." Kisame had a stoic face on and his grey eyes were storming. "Thanks would be nice." He grumbled and slung the Samehada back over him. Sakura's howling turned into suppressed squeaks and sobs. She was so distraught that she didn't even notice or care when she nuzzled into the crook of Hidan's neck for comfort. His skin was cold and he flinched before nudging her off, but any human contact was better than none. Could any Akatsuki really be called human, based on all the acts of terror they committed? Sakura decided on it and spoke out. "You're all monsters." Sakura whispered before wiping her tears in the same dowsed spot on Hidan's cloak. Kisame looked over his shoulder at her and scoffed. "Do you think Sasuke is any different?"

"I know he is!"

"You don't know anything. You hidden village hypocrites think you're all so worthy to judge people, like you're some kind of fucking law in this world. Your Hokage orders to kill just like any other leader. Act as self-righteous as you want, princess." Kisame bit out, full of spite and vehemence. "You're no different from us or Orochimaru. You're not on higher ground than anybody else." Sakura was in tears again by the time he reached the end of his first sentence. She looked to Hidan to see his reaction. He simply cast a look downward. He kept trudging on through the gravel path, not willing to make a statement on the matter. Hidan probably agreed, she thought, of course he did. Sakura bit her lip and tossed her head to face away from Kisame. He was wrong and she knew it.

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**A/N:** hmm I wonder why Kisame is being such a jerk )':

but oh my god oh my GOD I hope this chapter makes up for all of the hiatus I've been on, I feel like it doesn't, because it's mostly filler. I honestly will step this up a notch, I promise.

Thanks for reading this far, you're a trooper.


	4. Paraphrase

**Bait for the Big Fish**

**A/N:** ok, so as a present for me being a jerk and taking a long break, I will give you TWO chapters in one day. :'D and they're both relatively long. WHOOPEEEEE. I also want to say thank you to_ xoulblade_ & _lexypink_ who put me on their author alert/favorite list, story alert/favorite list, and sent in a review. I am so happy for all of your guy's reviews! It means more than you know.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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"The wench really grinded Kisame's fucking gears, I'm telling you guys. She was all whiny and complaining, you know, like bitches always are. So Kisame told that cunt, "Fuck off, princess!" It was pretty funny; you guys should've seen it." Hidan giggled as if he was a little school girl, obviously ecstatic from telling his fellow members about his twisted version of the story. However, it seemed as though Tobi was the only one who was listening. Hidan didn't mind, he felt at the center of attention, regardless. That was one of the perks of having an overinflated ego. Itachi cleared his throat and motioned to the food of toast, eggs, and bacon (courtesy of Tobi's cooking) before speaking up. Everyone looked over to him as they waited for him to speak. "She's going to have to eat." Itachi raised an eyebrow and rose from the table to go steep another cup of tea. Kisame would have probably been the likely candidate to go tend to the 'princess' if he wasn't already otherwise indisposed.

"I'll do it." Konan offered softly.

"Yeah, you're the girl, that'd be good!" Tobi grinned and nodded, implying that Sakura might feel more at home if she knew a female was in the building with her. Konan said nothing else and proceeded to pick up a clean plate, delicately forking food over onto it. She set up utensils and wrapped them in a linen napkin. Then, the blue haired woman poured a cup of water from the tap and carefully walked upstairs while balancing herself and the plate. Konan didn't bother knocking as she figured there wasn't much Sakura could be doing in an empty room with only one window and chakra seal. Konan shifted the plate so that she had a free hand and performed the necessary hand signs to unseal the room for long enough. The pinkette lay pressed against the floor, her hands tied behind her back with a grey rag. Konan almost felt a pang of guilt, until she reminded herself to let it wither on the vine. She set down the plate next to Sakura and took out a kunai to cut the rag, as she figured Sakura's chakra was probably too low to be dangerous. Sakura looked up at her with spring green eyes full of contempt. Konan pursed her lips and set down the cup of water as well. The female Akatsuki briskly turned around and made her way out of the door.

Sakura rubbed her sore wrists and looked over the plate of food brought to her. It was a portion of bacon, eggs, and a piece of toast. "Why would they poison me? If they wanted to kill me, they would've done it already," she reasoned with herself. Be it the hunger or boredom, she found herself gobbling up the food in record time. After she was finished eating, the kunoichi made her way around the room, touching the oak paneling and dusty windowsill. Her attention was brought to a seemingly antique mirror, crusted over with dust and debris. She saw the soft outline of her face in the glass, and she moved in order to wipe the thick layer of muck from the mirror. The pinkette's hair was a dusty rose color, and her face was covered in scratches as well as a thin layer of dirt. The scratches reminded her of Naruto and she felt an ache for home in her chest. To be honest, her whole body ached, but this was an ache of emotion and loneliness. She felt secluded and pathetic, locked up in this cell of a room with nothing to see or do.

"Did she eat it?" Kisame grunted at Konan. He sipped from a mug of coffee and rested his elbows on the wooden table. "Yes, she did." Konan nodded her head and went to go wash her hands due to the dust all over the place in that house. "That room is awfully dusty. Don't you think her boundaries should be lifted slightly? With no chakra, she's as dangerous as a mouse." It was uncommon for the blue haired woman to speak more than a phrase at a time, but there she was, rambling on and on. The blue skinned man and she were the only two in the kitchen at the time. Everyone else was in the back acres, either training or just relaxing. "I don't care. She'll just annoy everyone else and get herself smacked around." Kisame let out a low sigh and crossed his arms across his chest. Konan noted how odd and how different he was acting. He had been this way ever since he came back from getting the girl. Maybe something had happened or maybe she was blowing it out of proportion. She decided he was just in a bad mood and so she moved on with her day, along with taking Sakura's second meal during lunchtime. They didn't exchange more than a glance, but Konan spoke up anyways. "You're allowed to walk around the rest of the base as long as you're here." She briskly turned around and made her way back out of the door, leaving it cracked open almost as an offer for Sakura to leave the room.

Sakura seemed shocked; she didn't expect any of this. Honestly, the last thing she wanted to do was leave this stuffy room. It was musty, but it was safe at the same time. She hadn't been awake to see the rest of the house when she was dragged in on top of Hidan's shoulders. Maybe it would serve her well to go exploring around the base. She couldn't even be sure if it was a house or not, honestly. It might just be a shack, for all she knew. Before rising from the room, Sakura checked herself all over for lacerations and wounds. She found a couple scrapes here and there. After sending a small shoot of chakra through her body to see what exactly was wrong, she returned with the notice of a couple hairline fractured ribs. Other than that, not much seemed to stand out and be a bigger deal. Sakura was also very aware of how she looked; therefore, the kunoichi decided that a visit to the bathroom would be in order first. The pinkette had fully honed ears, and so she listened to the faint water flow whenever a toilet was flushed in the house. Thanks to that attention to detail, Sakura knew the general area of the restroom. She carefully poked the door open, flinching and tensing up as the hinge creaked. She swore that it echoed through the hall way. As she stepped out of the old, cramped room, she observed her surroundings. Sakura took a left down the corridor, and another right. At that moment, she realized how large that actual hideout was. Well, leave it to Akatsuki to have an over-eccentric base, despite the fact they moved. She had read about the banker, Kakuzu, and his taste for grandeur and money in the bingo books. Sakura found herself too craven to appreciate the architecture at that moment in time. All she wanted was to hole up in the bathroom for as long as she wanted, scrubbing her face and body of blood and muck. She was thanking the gods that the mirror in this particular bathroom was relatively clear; until she saw herself, that is. After about a week in the desert, her hair was matted into a pink furry mass. Her eyes were shadowed over with bags under them. Tear stains rolled down through her dirt-covered face.

A bar of soap and a towel were the only readily available commodities in the bathroom. The porcelain sink spurted greenish brown water as she first turned it on. That was a clear sign that no one used this bathroom frequently. She waited for the water to flow clearly as she pondered on the Akatsuki's nomadic lifestyle. Sakura found herself thinking that maybe she wouldn't mind the missing-nin way. She splashed the ice cold water against her a face; that is, a welcome waker-upper. The kunoichi proceeded to douse her face in the soapy mixture she made from the bar soap and the water, but her mind was awash with more pressing thoughts. What if Kisame was right about those Konoha-nin? They could really be coming after her as an enemy. Lady Hokage would never mistrust her, though. Sakura was practically a daughter to Tsunade. There was no way Kisame was telling the truth.

Her clothes were soiled from blood, dirt, and the long road. Sakura had no idea how to go about cleaning them, she figured she could wash them in the tub and avoid any contact with the rest of the house inhabitants, or she could man up and ask someone where to find a washing machine in this glorified cage. It was also an option to just sit in her dirt. The most likely option would be the first. Sakura figured she could wrap the towel around her to cover up her naked body and scrub at the clothes just enough to clean them. No one would be expecting her anywhere and so she could wait it out as long as it took while the clothes dried.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief as she finished washing the last of her delicates. She pulled the plug of the tub to let the water out and began to string the clothes up on the shower curtain pole with some dental floss she found in the drawer adjacent to the sink. The pinkette wrapped herself in the plain, white linen towel and started to make her way out of the bathroom and down the hall. She had a plan to acquire some sort of clothes other than those. If she was going to be kept hostage, Sakura would at least want to be comfortable. Now, you might say she didn't have enough room to demand such treatment. In her mind, the kunoichi was dignified enough to believe these were bare necessities.

Sakura stumbled upon a room with two windows, a large cherry oak desk, and a bookcase. She walked in carefully and ran her finger along the leather seat by the desk. A grim, low voice spoke up. "May I help you?" He drawled. The Konoha-nin nearly shrieked, but she kept her façade of dignity quite well. "I need some clothes." She gulped in the middle of speaking, which caused her voice to crack in the most embarrassing way. She could almost feel his eyes caressing the open flesh, due to the fact she was clad in a pick-stitched towel. The much taller figure chuckled and she felt a cold, clammy tentacle slithering its way up her calf. Sakura figured this wasn't on terms of endearment; therefore, he must have been doing this out of pure suspicion. "So we're giving our resources away to the bait, now?" The tentacle groper hissed and tightened the grip on her leg. The pinkette straightened her spine out even more than usual. In response, Kakuzu slipped the appendage off of her pale, milky leg and moved to go out of the room. Sakura visibly relaxed and hummed a bit deep in her throat as self-calming.

When the stitched-man rolled back into the office-like room, Sakura was overjoyed to have her mission being speedily completed. Zombie-guy brought in a plain black shirt and a long ebony skirt of silky texture. "These are another Akatsuki member's spare clothes." He informed the pink-haired ninja. "Oh. Thank you, sir…" Sakura grabbed the clothes out of her new "acquaintance's" hand. She trudged out of the office with all the pride she could muster up after being groped by inky-colored extremities. Haruno then made her way back into the bathroom with the fresh outfit.

The kunoichi took a seat on the marble counter top of the sink. She relaxed and rested her head against the wall. She found that the week of wandering and hardships had taken a toll on her body and her mind. Sakura truly was, in all sense of the word, exhausted. Even if it was in a bathroom, she found that this would probably be the most relaxing sleep and rest she'd gotten in days.

When the three found her, Sakura was damn near passed out on the linoleum floor. She lay out on the tiles like a spread eagle. Deidara nudged her thigh and quirked his eyebrow at her. "I wonder how comfortable that is, yeah." The effeminate blonde looked over to Hidan and Konan for some kind of response, though he doubted he'd get much. Hidan's eyes had already wandered over to the shower curtain pole. He was eyeing the peachy pink colored delicates hanging. Konan traversed her eyes over the whole bathroom and stopped on the borrowed clothes that rested near the sink and cabinets. The blue-haired woman decided it would be awkward for Sakura to have the color of her panties divulged. She quickly pulled the shower curtain over to cover up all of her drying clothes.

Konan knew she had to wake Sakura up to take her to the leader, but something about disturbing her from her sleep irked the female Akatsuki. Deidara continued prodding the pink-haired nin over and over until she roused from her sleep. Sakura pulled the towel up to cover her face, which revealed a wider section of her thigh. She grumbled something sleepily and mewled a bit. Deidara found himself more annoyed than usual. He kicked her sharply in the ribs and the Konoha kunoichi tumbled over, grabbing at her towel to cover her up. She was more aware of her surroundings in that moment. "G-Get out," Sakura yelped as she backed up against the wall. Hidan grinned lasciviously and prowled closer, vilifying himself even further. It somehow reminded her of a lion stalking its prey. She then reminded herself if she was to survive as long as she was here, she would have to think of herself as the only lion.

Sakura slipped on the lent clothes when Konan dragged Hidan out by the scruff of his neck and Deidara strutted out behind the two. She followed behind the group and made her way to the figurative lion's den of the base. It was a large room that smelled of musk and hickory. It was decorated with many leather couches and chairs that surrounded a walnut wood coffee table. A brick hearth warmed the whole vicinity. The whole room reeked of manly presence. Sakura refused to believe that many of the members she saw so far were chivalrous or epitomes of manliness. She curled up in a large armchair in an attempt to cuddle up and cozy down.

"Welcome, Haruno." An orange-haired shadow of a man stood by the doorway with his arms crossed across his chest. He had piercings covering his face and they flowed all the way down his nose. Sakura decided this sit down speech was going to be more important than she was prepared for. The man had such an air of command and respect around him. Almost all of the Akatsuki members had quieted down and settled into the furniture of the room. Konan was the only one standing and she had taken her place next to the enigmatic carrot top.

Sakura bit her lip and braced herself for whatever this meeting was apparently for. It was a good plan for her to do so, because what she was about to hear would stop her heart and start it again all within the same moment. Her captor uttered those magic blood pumping words with fluidity. The apparent orange-haired leader had no idea that he paraphrased her whole existence in that phrase. She met his stormy-grey, vertigo eyes as he spoke, "Would you like to see Uchiha Sasuke again?"

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**A/N:** Okay, that's about all I could shove in one chapter. I feel like I really carry these things out with not much progression and it's really making me annoyed at myself. In other news, I would very much appreciate a beta! If anyone is up to it, I'd really love for you to help me out before I go scouring the beta readers' part of the site. Thanks for reading, again, and I love you guys! Xoxo.


	5. Black & White

**Bait for the Big Fish**

Hey guys. Thanks for reading up until Chapter 5! (: Enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.

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If Sakura had learned one thing from the Academy, it was the act of not showing fear, or any emotion for that matter, to an enemy. You must plaster on a stoic face and trudge through whatever mess you have been handed. Kakashi had been a wonderful sensei in this regard. Whether he was knee-deep in muck or not, he wore the same face. It seemed as though he held a calm acquiescence to the world around him. Sakura found parts of Kakashi to idolize, despite the fact he almost failed her as a teacher. At this particular moment in time, Sakura would kill to have him standing by her side and telling her what to do. Her face had frozen up; at least she was following up the first rule of shinobi. The pinkette's knees were buckling and she almost face planted onto the hard, oak floor. Somehow, she found it in herself to repose and gather up as much dignity as she could. Without missing a blink, she did something no sane Konoha-nin would do. Sakura looked right into grey, misty eyes full of rings. Her eyes held such vibrancy and passion that the Leader would have found himself taken aback if he hadn't crushed so many spirits like hers before. The kunoichi chewed on her lips a bit before she firmly bit out, "No." That was all she said before she turned away and attempted to make her way back up stairs.

"She's your hostage, Kisame. Please restrain her." The presumed leader motioned to the distance between the two. Sakura shot back a wary glance at both of them; she appeared much like a scared street dog. Kisame grabbed her by the wrist firmly and crushed her into the floor. Her diaphragm was pushed up against her lungs and she let out a small squeak in protest. Sakura could hear her wrist bones crunching against each other violently under the huge man's heavy grip. "You're hurting me," Sakura quietly whined as she squirmed under his grasp. The Konoha-nin mouthed a plead and searched her captor's face for some sort of emotion, whether it be guilt, anger, or sympathy. She took note that Kisame's eyes visibly softened. Upon realization, she almost breathed a sigh of relief. Instead, she bucked against his hips and scrambled out from under him in one move as he was shocked from the sudden movement. A Konoha shinobi would never give up. She promised herself that as long as she was in this wretched place, she would hold a shred of Leaf-nin inside of her. It didn't matter to her that after she even gained an inch of footing, she was dragged back across the ground by her ankle. She had tasted freedom for that split second and that was enough for the day.

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In the city of leaves, prideful kunoichi, and fox jinchuuriki boys, there was quite a storm brewing. The whole nation was on the brink of war and the shinobi were at the center. They were pawns in a fatal game of shogi. The Hokage had remained steadfast during the whole fit of political rivalries. The blonde –haired woman with wise, topaz eyes used every skill in her repertoire so push the nation a little closer to peace. None of her pleads or bargains seemed to affect any opinions, though. It was ironic to her that the hand of the people, the shinobi, had no voice in what was to be carried out by them.

Tsunade's current problem was not anything promptly considering the war. It was the fact that her prize student, near-surrogate daughter, and close friend were gone. She had disappeared up out of the dust and sand, almost literally. Tsunade somehow thought she would never see her again. Gods know she had lost enough people in her life, and it wouldn't be surprising to lose another with her luck. It seemed that all of Team 7 was distraught with the loss of Sakura, as well. Naruto had come to her, almost in tears, demanding a mission to bring back the pinkette. Kakashi accompanied the jinchuuriki and stood there in the room, stoic as ever. Tsunade knew he had some inner turmoil, there was no way he didn't. Sakura was his student and he was as emotionally attached to her as anyone. That's why when they demanded that mission, Tsunade almost immediately agreed. It was of the best interest of the whole hidden village to get Sakura back. She was an efficient fighter and an exquisite healer, a worthy gem of a ninja. Not only this, but Tsunade missed her protégé dearly. However, Tsunade realized that she also couldn't sacrifice some of her best shinobi to go save one. She must remain as steadfast, strong, and resilient as the stone that her face was carved into on the mountainside. With that in mind, Tsunade listened to their testimonies. She found them all to be true, but there wasn't much she could do.

In the end, the only thing the Hokage found she was able to do was allow Hokage to go on his way. Somehow, she figured he would 'wander off' anyways. Kakashi was extremely loyal, she knew that. To whom was he more loyal, though?

Naruto was torn up inside, Tsunade knew. She flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder and leaned up on her desk. "I'm sorry, Naruto. You know why I can't let you. You are more valuable here. We have no traces on where Sakura could be. Kakashi and his nin-dogs will have a much better chance in even following a lead than you." Tsunade heard the cold in her own voice. Naruto slammed his fists against her desk, like he had done so many times before. The words would not rise through his throat and so he choked on them. The jinchuuriki's tears came slowly, they progressed but he soon buried his own face in his palms out of embarrassment. Helplessness was not a pill he knew how to swallow without water.

* * *

In all of her bruised and bloodied glory, Sakura stood tall in front of her mirror as Tobi brushed her drab and unimpressive hair back. Normally, it would shimmer with strawberry tints bouncing off the light. Right now, it could only be described as dusty and plain. Tobi had volunteered to take care of "poor Sakura-chan!" This was due to the fact her wrist had an ugly break (thanks to Kisame's brute force), and most daily needs were now impossible. Tobi was the only member with a shred of compassion, apparently. Sakura thought that maybe it was only the fact that she was a new play thing and he was constantly bored. Tobi ran the horsehair brush through her feathery, pink locks. He occasionally brushed a few strands away from her forehead with gloved fingers. Sakura relished in the feeling, it was somewhat relaxing. She was in no way getting to like these people, or should she say _monsters_, but it was nice to know some of them wouldn't reel back at comforting her.

"You know, Sakura-chan, you don't seem to be getting along with everyone very well."

Sakura paused, her jaw agape. "I wonder why."

"The secret to enjoying somewhere you don't want to be is pretending like you want to be here, Miss Sakura." He raised a finger and shook it in front of her face as if to make the point.

Perhaps Tobi had a point and Sakura was probably just too stubborn to admit to even herself that he was right. Sakura didn't reply, she didn't want to admit anything to one of these freaks, even if it was one of the kinder.

* * *

Kakashi was well aware of the unlucky streaks Sakura had during her whole career as a shinobi. First, she was well-over ignored by her first teacher and she fell head over heels for someone with no interest in her. After that, Sakura was left with no one until she found another mentor all on her own. Kakashi was feeling pretty low on himself as he went over the history of his only female student. Somewhere along the lines, he failed her and that's all he knew.

However, his self-image took a turn for improvement as his nin-dogs strolled around her apartment to find an item heavy of her scent. The silver-haired nin stared upon the framed images of Team 7. He graced his face with a smile again at the thought of those memories.

* * *

After Tobi left the room with a smile and a goodnight, Sakura found herself limp and aching, sprawled out on a sleeping mat on the ground. The whole Akatsuki had decided to make her sleeping arrangements in her room permanent. She would be called down to get meals, three times a day, just like all the other members. The offer to freely roam around the house still stood, yet Sakura had not taken full advantage. However tempting relative freedom was, she wasn't that desperate for human contact just yet.

The next morning was a disaster, to put it lightly. Sakura had merely wanted to get some breakfast before she went back to sulking in her room. Apparently, nothing in this household would be that easy. The moment she even tried grabbed a couple pieces of bacon, scrambled eggs, and a biscuit, the havoc started.

Hidan was screaming at the top of his lungs because so help him Jashin, the piece of bacon was meant for _him_ and if Kakuzu touched it one more time, he would put him on a spit and make him into bacon. The Jashinist had proceeded to smack away all incoming hands with a metal spatula. Itachi gave up after the first smack and settled on a cup of tea. Tobi whined and looked like a puppy begging for his meal as Hidan reprimanded him for trying to sneak in. Kisame gave a hardy chuckle when Kakuzu ripped the spatula out of Hidan's hand with his dexterous tentacles. Deidara already began to make a bowl of cereal, instead of the breakfast, which looked more appealing to Sakura anyways.

Sakura settled on going the same route as Deidara. She scooted out of the crowd and over to the pantry to grab a box of the only cereal they had, which was some boring cornflake brand. Deidara grinned at her; a silent nod to her shared intelligence. "Here you go, yeah." The effeminate blonde spoke up and handed her one of their finely-crafted clay bowls, made by the resident sculptor in his free time, along with a carton of milk.

"Thank you," Sakura bashfully replied. If there was one member she was the least familiar with, it was Deidara. Somehow, she hadn't heard much of him. He must have been the most new member. Sometimes it took shinobi a long time to gather information. Sakura realized his smile was enough to charm anyone into hiding information, though. He was handsome and he probably knew it. She was yet to see any bad side to him, but Sakura was seasoned enough to know _everyone _had a bad side; it was just a matter of how long it took until you got on it.

The pink-haired medic prepared her meal and ate it up speedily, as to get out of everyone's way as soon as possible. The least time she spent around these crazies, the less influenced she'd be by them, she figured. Just when she thought the treacherous meal-time and morning was over, a sense of foreboding ran over her and she met those dark grey, smoky eyes again. Sakura felt as if they always had a film over them. She had yet to learn the name of the leader, and she wasn't exactly comfortable enough with anyone yet to ask them. He was an interesting fellow, she'd give him that; full of enigma and infinitely intriguing, he was.

Something in Sakura's brain clicked as she noticed herself mesmerizing over these men. They were all hunting down her best friend. That's the moment she wanted to run and hide under the nearest boulder. And if they came for her, she would crush said boulder in all of their faces. Yeah, it seemed like a good plan to her. Sakura grew lonely at the thought of her orange-haired compadre. Her musty, old room was the least appealing place on Earth at that moment. She tossed caution to the wind and plopped down on the stiff leather couch. It wasn't very comfortable, but at least from there, she could hear the early morning chatter of the group. They were discussing things like weather, sports, and art. In that instant, Sakura was more confused than she'd ever had been in her life. Why weren't they plotting evil and dastardly things? How come they weren't talking about all the candy they had to steal from children? Then, another thing clicked in Sakura's mind. Akatsuki wasn't exactly full of bad people. It wasn't all black and white.

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**A/N:** Ok, this chapter was kind of all over the place but I still think it was good. Now this is where you guys get to help: review me or PM me on here and tell me…

**Do you think this story should be more lighthearted and humorous or should I go down the dark and dramatic route?**

I can go either way right now, but I'm just wondering which is preferred! The next chapter will definitely reflect the outcome. Thanks or the reviews and reads. I love you all so much!


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